As a follow-up to my post The Perils of Education I was preparing a piece on play. My chief concern being that the word play – like the word progressive – is itself so plastic and open to so many interpretations that defining it is like holding water in your hand: However hard you try … Read more
What 60 schools can tell us about teaching 21st century skills. Here’s the TEDx Denver version of the talk Grant Lichtman gave at #naisac13 in Philadelphia. I take my title from an extraordinary compliment that Grant paid Poughkeepsie Day School on his blog where he wrote: “…Poughkeepsie Day School, a school that has preserved the fires of the … Read more
We know that empathy – that ability to walk around in another’s shoes – matters. We know that developing empathy is important. But how do you do that? The 4th and 5th grade put on a show last week. Not just any show for this was a play they had written themselves based on their … Read more
Connecting the Dots: Becoming a Knowledge Age Innovator Interesting 2009 short article by Deborah Westphal of Toffler Associates Key points include: Innovation is essential to the long-term success of every organization. But innovation isn’t what it used to be. Discovery doesn’t occur in a vacuum. Innovators have always relied on ideas that have come before or are emerging … Read more
The world is moving at a tremendous rate; no one knows where. We must prepare our children not for the world of the past, not for our world, but for their world. The world of the future. – John Dewey I met Grant Lichtman when he was on his education journey – a road trip with … Read more
Watch The Masks written and directed by PDS student Haixu Liu – All American High School Film Festival Awards winner. Congratulations Haixu.
I like this story of imagination, design, persistence, invention and ingenuity. “We’re going to save the world.” “It’s chicken to be a realist.” “If people say it’s impossible we have to prove them wrong.”
If there’s any doubt that we are living in an age of marvels just read these accounts of what happened when school was closed last Friday: Snow Day and Teaching Is Never Boring and Snow Day . With the forecasters predicting apocalyptic snowfalls, school was closed but the learning did not stop. Online tools available … Read more